Jefferson on finding God
By Steve Farrell
web posted January 19, 2004
Was Thomas Jefferson an enemy of God?
Numerous anti-Christian cynics feel certain, despite ample
evidence to the contrary, that the answer is "yes." After all,
Jefferson once advised, "Question with boldness even the
existence of a God." (1) An interesting challenge.
The quote, found in a personal letter to Peter Carr, has been
combined, by these cynics, with several other Jefferson jabs at
religion, to give the impression that Thomas Jefferson was more
like a soul mate of Karl Marx than John Adams', and more in
favor of freedom from religion than freedom of religion.
But it's not true. The Jefferson quote is taken out of context, way
out. So what else is new?
Place the quote in context, and well, take a look for yourself.
He begins:
"Your reason is now mature enough to examine this object
[religion]. In the first place, divest yourself of all bias in favor of
novelty and singularity of opinion. Indulge them in any other
subject rather than that of religion. It is too important, and the
consequences of error may be too serious." (2)
This is anti-God? A mature, unbiased approach is more vital as
regards this subject, than any other. Why? Because Jefferson
believed that the two most important teachings of Christ, along
with love of God and love of neighbor, were a belief in life after
death, and final judgment. (3) Get the point?
He continues:
"… shake off all the fears and servile prejudices, under which
weak minds are servilely crouched. Fix reason firmly in her seat,
and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with
boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one,
he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of
blindfolded fear." (4)
There's the quote, and here's the honest interpretation, to this
point: The Biblical record, as Jefferson understood it, testified
that God is a God of love and liberty, not fear and tyranny.
Therefore, if the record is true, God must be the author of free
inquiry on the subject of his existence. This then, is not a
rejection of God, but a rejection of the European church which
Jefferson believed perverted the gospel.
It was also an endorsement of the democratic approach to faith
that arose in America, where all men were free to study and
discover God and the Bible on their own, rather than through an
elite few.
So what's wrong with that?
Better yet, take a look at Jefferson's recommended course of
study; it is certainly not for the weak hearted and weak minded,
who might blindly discard God without an honest search.
"… naturally examine first, the religion of your own country.
Read the Bible, then, as you would read Livy or Tacitus." (5)
What did he mean? When one reads all of the educational advice
letters Jefferson sent to Carr, it is clear Jefferson meant, read the
Bible in the original, cover to cover, which in this case meant,
study it in Greek, and in Latin, and in Hebrew, and then compare
the three. (6)
He was also saying, extend at least as much trust to the spiritual
writer as to the secular writer. Specifically, he encouraged the
lad to implicitly trust in "the authority" of the Biblical writer when
the facts "are within the ordinary course of nature," and to only
engage in a more aggressive and reflective probe when "those
facts in the Bible … contradict the laws of nature". (7)
This makes sense. It is typical Jefferson.
"Here you must recur to the pretensions of the writer to
inspiration from God. Examine upon what evidence his
pretensions are founded, and whether that evidence is so strong,
as that its falsehood would be more improbable than a change in
the laws of nature, in the case he relates." (8)
In other words, Jefferson believed God preferred something
more than producing blind faith in men he endowed with reason.
Nevertheless, as he noted, there can be strong enough evidence,
of a different sort, which may over-ride the laws of nature, or at
least our meager understanding of those laws, and over-ride
reason as well.
In this regard, earlier in the same letter, he noted: "He who made
us would have been a pitiful bungler, if he had made the rules of
our moral conduct a matter of science." (9)
Regarding Christ, his approach was equally demanding and
equally open-minded. Christ ought to be studied from the
perspective of believers and non-believers, and from Biblical, as
well as extra-Biblical sources, before judgment is passed.
"[Y]ou should read all the histories of Christ [including Roman],
as well of those whom a council of ecclesiastics have decided for
us, to be Pseudo-evangelists … Because these Pseudo-
evangelists pretended to inspiration, as much as the others, and
you are to judge their pretensions by your own reason, and not
by the reason of those ecclesiastics. Most of these are lost.
There are some, however, still extant, collected by Fabricius,
which I will endeavor to get and send you." (10) (Emphasis
added)
This is no passing, no lazy, no antagonistic approach to finding
God, Christ, and true religion; but a serious, vigorous, open-
minded, open-ended labor-a labor Jefferson personally pursued
throughout his life. (11)
And here's the crux of the matter; if, after all this effort, one
decides to reject God and Christ as real or divine, Jefferson
explained, he will nonetheless, "find incitements to virtue" and a
"love of others," as a by-product of this labor. (12)
On the other hand, wrote Jefferson to Carr, "If you find reason
to believe there is a God, a consciousness that you are acting
under his eye, and that he approves you, [this] will be a vast
additional incitement [to virtue];" while hope of "a future state,
[and] a happy existence in that [state] increases the appetite to
deserve it; [and] if that Jesus was also a God, you will be
comforted by a belief of his aid and love." (13)
Just what is wrong with all of this? And how is it that this quote
was an ode to Atheism, an ode to a liberty which bans God and
Christ from America?
No, it is no such thing, but proof of the sort of dishonesty you
and I are daily fed regarding the faith of our forefathers.
So here's the truth the prevaricators won't let out: Jefferson
believed in God, believed in eternal life, believed in final
judgment, and believed a proper education included a fair and
vigorous, life long, personal quest to know God and His true
religion.
NewsMax pundit Steve Farrell is associate professor of political
economy at George Wythe College, and the author of the highly
praised, inspirational novel, "Dark Rose." Contact Steve at
stevenmfarrell@cox.net
Footnotes
1. Bergh, Albert Ellery, editor. "The Writings of Thomas
Jefferson, Volume VI,” p. 258. This quote is sited as a stand
alone on nearly 1900 web pages. A sampling of some of the
organizations, institutions, publications, and websites that have
used this quote to prove Jefferson was against God and in favor
of an anti-religious agenda for America include: The Yale
Political Quarterly; The University of Virginia's Library (the
University Jefferson founded, and that houses his personal
library); Secular Humanists of Cornell; Atheists, Humanists and
Agnostics of Louisiana State University; The Thomas Paine
Historical Association; The Ayn Rand Institute; Capitalism
Magazine; Counterpunch Magazine; The American Prospect;
Capitalism.org; New America Foundation; EarlyAmerica.com;
The Freedom From Religion Foundation; The Objectivist
Center; Atheism.org; PositiveAtheism.org; AtheistParents.org;
Infidels.org; Unbelief.org; SecularStudents.org; Humanists.net;
Socialist Party of Arizona; ReligiousTolerance.org;
NoBeliefs.com; Deism.com; Ordo Antichristianus Illumaniti
(Illuminists, Scholars and Statesmen of the New Order and
Antichristendom); MemorableQuotations.com; Quoteland.com;
QuoteProject.com; RefDesk.com; GiftofWisdom.com;
StudyWorld.com; TheHappyHeretic.com; exmormon.org;
exchristian.net; religionisdumb.com; and let's not forget:
realmagick.com; jackowitch.com; wikiquote.com. Out of 800
websites this writer personally surveyed, only a handful used the
quote in context, and in a manner which reflected faith in God by
Jefferson.
2. Ibid., p. 258 3. Cousins, Norman, editor. "In God We Trust,"
New York, Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1958, p. 160. In
Jefferson's Letter to Benjamin Waterhouse, June 26, 1822,
Jefferson writes: "The Doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend all
to the happiness of men. 1. That there is one only God, and he
all perfect. 2. That there is a future state of rewards and
punishments. 3. That to love God with all thy heart and thy
neighbor as thyself is the sum of religion. These are the great
points on which he endeavored to reform the religion of the
Jews." The man who followed this religion was "the true and
charitable Christian." 4. "The Writings of Thomas Jefferson,
Volume VI, p. 258.
5. Ibid., p. 258-259 6. See, for instance, Jefferson's letter dated
August 19, 1785, to his nephew, Peter Carr, wherein he notes,
"I advise you to begin a course of ancient history, reading
everything in the original and not in translations." Jefferson,
personally, went verse by verse through the New Testament, in
this fashion, compiling and analyzing comparisons in Greek,
Latin, French, and English, for years. "The Writings of Thomas
Jefferson, Volume V," pg. 84.
7. "The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Volume VI," p. 259.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid., p. 257.
10. Ibid., p. 261, see also, p. 260.
11. Jefferson pursued a study of religion from his early youth to
the end of his life. He was the creator of the first "red letter"
edition of the New Testament, a work he pursued even as
President of the United States; and he had in mind to produce a
similar work, highlighting all of the great moral teachings of the
Old Testament, but never got around to it (he did, however,
persistently encourage the project in others). He was in constant
contact, particularly in his retirement, with ministers and thinkers
on the subject of religion, from across the globe-sharing notes,
books, opinions, and deep feelings on the subject. This was
especially the case in his exchange of letters with John Adams.
(See Norman Cousins, "In God We Trust: The Religious Beliefs
and Ideas of the American Founding Fathers," Chapters 4-6,
especially chapter 5.
12. "The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Volume VI," p. 260.
13. Ibid., p. 260-261.
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